I am on the board of a new chapter for administrative professionals and we are getting our flyer ready to be sent out to potential members. We've already had one meeting to find out if there is an interest and there was. The issue is that several people made reservations (which included dinner costing $25). When they didn't show up, we still had to pay for their dinners.

We wanted to add a line or two on the flyer that basically said "Reservation Made is a Reservation Paid", but in a nice way. My suggestion was to add a line that said "Reservations confirmed upon receipt of check"...but someone mentioned that we were going to welcome walk-ins.

Are you taking a credit card at the time of the reservation? I've seen something like this before:Credit card will be charged at time reservation is made. Cancelations must be made by xx date for refund.

I'm a member in a similar type of chapter. I RSVP'd yes for dinner and a meeting, had a crisis at work and couldn't make it. The financial person emailed me to say she was sorry I missed the meeting, and did I want to pay the $ for dinner at the next meeting, or mail it to her.

I was a member, so I don't know how they handled non members who didn't show.

I ran an annual weekend event for a 12-Step program for several years. Even before the first time I knew that a reservation meant nothing without the payment in full. So that's what I required: payment with reservation. No refunds were available for any reason but you could get someone else to come in your place (and get their money yourself) if you wanted, and did the work. When someone else took it over, he didn't require the payment upfront and as a result people backed out, didn't show up, and didn't respond. The event fell apart.

Lesson: No reservations without money. No refunds. Result: Smooth event.

(If you have space and are willing to do at-the-door reservations note that, but add additional money onto the fee.)

Are you taking a credit card at the time of the reservation? I've seen something like this before:Credit card will be charged at time reservation is made. Cancelations must be made by xx date for refund.

I would go with "Credit card charged at time of reservation. Walk ins welcome."

Are you taking a credit card at the time of the reservation? I've seen something like this before:Credit card will be charged at time reservation is made. Cancelations must be made by xx date for refund.

I would go with "Credit card charged at time of reservation. Walk ins welcome."

Or, if you don't want to require CCs, "Payment due upon reservation. Walk-ins welcome as space allows."

I belong to a large professional organization - we have a monthly lunch meeting, which requires us to provide a confirmed head count in advance to the venue. And we are then charged for that head count, at a minimum.

We used to allow payment on site, however, that led to a large number of no-shows, and we still had to pay. In people's defense, it is possible they don't realize this, but the only way to enforce it is to require advance payment.

We started doing that, and while we still have some no-shows, we do have their money. We also take walk-ins, space permitting.

People are far more likely to keep the commitment if they have to pay in advance. Make prepayment a condition of RSVP. The only thing with saying walkins are welcome is you could have a lot of people decide to attend at the last minute and then not have enough seating or food for them.

Or, if you don't want to require CCs, "Payment due upon reservation. Walk-ins welcome as space allows."

This. It's clean and clear. Most professional organizations that I belong to require payment at the time of reservation. It's not unusual. The fact that you will take walk-ins if space is available is generous.

"Reservation Made is a Reservation Paid" sounds backwards to me somehow, because the payment is required before the reservation can be confirmed. "Reservation paid is a reservation made" makes more sense to me.

I'm with PPs who skip the rhyme and go with "reservations confirmed with receipt of check".